Ending the denial of social welfare benefits to Dalit Christians, who hail from a group formerly known as untouchables, is among the undertakings given during campaigning for India’s national parliamentary election.

For almost seven decades, political parties have ignored the demands of Christians of Dalit origin for welfare measures enjoyed by others, particularly Hindus. “This has been a long-pending demand of the Catholic Church and we are happy some political parties are now raising this issue and making this part of their election manifestos,” said Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary-general of the Indian Bishops’ Conference.